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Ann Geraldine Mary Fleming ( Charteris, formerly Baroness O'Neill and Viscountess Rothermere; 19 June 1913 – 12 July 1981) was a British aristocrat and socialite. She had three husbands: Lord O'Neill, Lord Rothermere and Ian Fleming.
Her paternal grandparents were Hugo Charteris, 11th Earl of Wemyss and Mary Constance Wyndham, Ann Fleming, Spartacus, Retrieved 5 February 2017 who had her own hedonistic past, having been one of The Souls.Jane Ridley, Clayre Percy, "Charteris, Mary Constance, Countess of Wemyss (1862–1937)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edition, October 2005 accessed 9 February 2017 Her maternal grandparents were Francis John "Frank" Tennant (a son of Sir Charles Tennant, 1st Baronet) and Annie Geraldine ( Redmayne) Tennant. Her maternal aunt, Kathleen Tennant, was the wife of John Manners, 9th Duke of Rutland.
She was educated by governesses after an unsuccessful term at Cheltenham Ladies' College. She had a good understanding of literature but her future was to be a debutante.
In 1940, Esmond Harmsworth became the 2nd Viscount Rothermere. Ann's husband went to war; she then appeared with Harmsworth, as well as having an affair with Ian Fleming, at that time a stockbroker, who became an assistant to the Director of Naval Intelligence. Lord O'Neill was killed in action in 1944.
The couple entertained, and their social circle included the painter Lucian Freud (who painted her portrait), the choreographer Frederick Ashton and the artist Francis Bacon. Meanwhile, Ian Fleming left the navy and became a journalist with The Sunday Times. He had built Goldeneye on land in the British Colony of Jamaica and he had demanded three-month vacations from his employer to enjoy his holiday home. The two spent three months of every year together in Jamaica.Andrew Lycett, "Fleming, Ian Lancaster (1908–1964)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edition, October 2008 accessed 9 February 2017 Her new husband thought she was in Jamaica to visit Noël Coward. In 1951 she was divorced by Lord Rothermere.
Anxiety over his forthcoming marriage is said to be the reason that Ian Fleming wrote the first James Bond novel, Casino Royale. Ann had a £100,000 divorce settlement and Fleming sought additional sources of revenue to add to his salary from The Sunday Times. The book and its sequels were immediate successes. Ann also had a long-term affair with the Labour Party politician Hugh Gaitskell.
The Flemings bought a house in London, where they entertained. They later rebuilt Warneford Place at Sevenhampton, near Swindon, renaming it Sevenhampton Place and moving there in 1963. Her husband was not keen on the socialising, but their houses attracted Evelyn Waugh, Cyril Connolly and Peter Quennell.
Ian died in 1964 and their son, Caspar, died in 1975. Ann Fleming died at Sevenhampton Place on 12 July 1981.Andrew Lycett, "Fleming, Ann Geraldine Mary other (1913–1981)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edition, May 2014 accessed 9 February 2017 Both were buried alongside Ian at the church of St James in Sevenhampton.
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